How To Make Your Home Spider-Free

Posted by FAIDEPRO on September 4th, 2021

As many might know today, spiders are not insects. These creatures of varying sizes are arachnids and comprise several species. The main difference between a spider and an insect is that a spider’s body includes two segments; the Cephalothorax, the head and thorax combined, and the abdomen. A lot of spiders prefer living outdoor hunting for insects. However, if you find spiders in your home, the most probable reason is that a male spider is chasing a female spider that hides in your home. Spiders equally find refuge and warmth in your home in cases where temperatures outside are relatively low.



Most spiders are innocuous and assist in maintaining the insect population stable. Spiders emit silk by discharging a liquid that turns to silk when it meets the air, and that is how we see cobwebs. Spiders also produce a toxic substance called venom which they use to paralyze their prey and eat them conveniently. There are some venomous spiders whose poison kills.

Generally, spiders are more nuisance than harmful in a home because they mostly use their venom on invertebrates rather than humans. A spider is scared of more enormous creatures like humans, so that it will use its venom on a human if it feels attacked or as a means of defense. They can produce cobwebs in areas of the home that are hard to reach. An annoying fact about spiders is that they reproduce quickly and can infest your space in no time. Some signs and symptoms of a spider bite include; localized pain, swelling, redness, and allergic reactions like necrosis, dizziness, and nausea. You could find common spiders in your home: daddy long legs, cardinal spiders, cupboard spiders, money spiders, hobo spiders, lace web spiders, zebra jumping spiders, and false widow spiders. These spiders are generally not harmful to humans and are non-venomous.

Spiders; Allies or Foes

It is no secret that spiders are among the most frequent pests in our homes. With the widespread fear of spiders known as arachnophobia, spiders easily find their way inside a vacuum cleaner or smashed beneath a sandal. Regardless, there are still unafraid people who are not scared of bumping into a spider dangling in its web. So they opt to see the good in the most dreaded creatures and choose to coexist with them in the same house. A word of advice, though, is never to try to pet a spider. A spider would immediately feel attacked in such a situation and eventually retort, not in a good way. 

Spiders could be a benefit for your home in the following three ways;

  • Spiders feed on many pests that infest our homes like cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, clothes moths.

  • Spiders equally feed on other weaker spiders. When two spiders meet, they engage in a fight where the more robust spider wins the battle. If you notice lots of spiders in a particular area of your home, you will see with time; few are left alive because of the constant war that happens amongst themselves.

  • Spiders help reduce the spread of diseases. As stated above, spiders feed on several other pests which can be carriers of diseases such as mosquitoes, fleas, flies, and cockroaches.



Reasons why Spiders enter your home.

Did you know that spiders do not enjoy getting into your homes? Most spiders you find in your homes exist because of parents’ eggs sacs left inside the house on furniture and building materials. These eggs hatch into young spiders who grow and live their whole lives in your home. Also, during some seasons of the year, male spiders who live outside your home seek female spiders in your home for mating purposes. Eventually, you find more spiders getting into your home.

In other cases, spiders enter your home in search of food. Spiders feed on insects that live in your home. These insects are very much attracted to light in your house. Thus, lights in your home attract bugs whose presence, in turn, attracts spiders.

Getting rid of spiders from your Home.

Spiders are most likely to penetrate your home if your home is constantly dark and untidy. So getting your home bright and orderly would be a step in the right direction. Places at the outskirts of your home, like garages, are the most likely to be hosts to spiders. Make sure to keep regularly an eye on such areas of your home too. On top of that, the following points are some naturals ways by which you can maintain your home spider-free.

  1. Cedar

Many pest technicians recommend the use of cedar for spider control as the scent irritates them. This does not imperatively mean you have to grow a cedar tree in your home just out of the blues. There are lots of cedar-scenting products which you can purchase and get your home free from spiders. Also, you could get cedar blocks and chips and sprinkle them inside and around your home.  

  1. Citrus

Spiders hate the scent of citrus! Rubbing citrus peels along bookshelves, window sills, and skirting boards would be a great start to eliminating these creatures. You can also easily use citrus repellent substances with just a lemon; cut the lemon, squeeze the juice, and add some water which you can spray off a spray bottle on surfaces in your home.  Another way to use citrus to fight against the presence of spiders in your home is to make use of lemon-scented dish cleaners and furniture polish. Burning citronella candles could equally be a way out. lYou can use grapefruit, orange, lemon, or lime peels, or the mix as a citrus source of all of them. Many people who enjoy handling this issue use all these citrus methods or combine two or more of them.



  1. Essential oils.

Did you know that spiders’ taste buds are located at the tip of each of their feet? By implication, every step a spider takes, there is some tasting process that occurs. How weird, right! So you can make use of this characteristic of them as an advantage. If spiders walk on some substance they do not like, they will most likely not walk around that substance again or the area where the substance in question was spread. It is already well known that spiders do not like citrus; therefore, getting a citrus essential oil would be awesome to control spiders from entering your home. However, other essentials work great in keeping spiders away. The most common are; tea tree oil, rose oil, and peppermint oil. Alternating the oils you use would make this method more effective.

  1. Garlic

Spiders do not tolerate the presence of garlic the same way as vampires do. This is a cheap way of controlling spiders’ presence in your home. You can use as much as you can smell and tolerate. The most common way to use garlic for spider control is to crush them and use them in spray bottles. You can choose to purchase a well-sealed garlic spray, or you can rely on a DIY method which would be less costly and practical as well. 

  1. Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a plant that helps keep at distance spiders from invading your homes. The scent from a eucalyptus plant is pleasant and appealing to humans, but it is one of the worst scents for spiders and will eventually chase them away. Therefore, you win on both sides with this method because you can keep your home fresh and fragrant while repelling spiders without harming them. As a natural repellent, you can even use eucalyptus on your skin without fearing any adverse effect on you nor your family’s health. Another benefit is that it will equally help repel insects like cockroaches, fleas, mosquitoes, silverfish, and flies that infest your home space.

Eucalyptus spray is easy to make, so that you can make it yourself at home. You will just need to get alcohol, water, and some essential oils. You can spray your product on your body, bedding, and areas where you notice cobwebs. Also, you can just rely on the eucalyptus branches, which can also serve as decoration in your home on windowsills and vases.

Again, this is a gentle method in keeping your home free from spiders as it would not kill them but just repel them outside your home. However, if you notice any dangerous spider like the black widow, you may want to use a chemical pesticide.

  1. Cover cracks on walls in your home.

This method could be the most straightforward among them. If you wish to avoid a pest from entering your home, you just need to block them from entering your home. The most common way a spider would penetrate your home is through cracks and holes found on the walls of your house. You may want to check your door openings and window sills if there are holes or cracks through which spiders could enter your home and seal them using caulk on the edges. 

  1. Regular Cleaning

Another classic way to chase spiders away from your home is by cleaning and dusting frequently. Spiders love dark places to hide, and by keeping your house tidy, spiders would not find a place even to build webs. When you destroy spiders’ webs, you equally dismantle their hunting strategy as you have cleaned off their preys already, and so they do not find the essence of staying in your home anymore. This might be a selfish method, but by cleaning up regularly, spiders would not be able to hunt in your home and would find refuge in other people’s homes.

  1. Lights out

By now, you should know from the above points that spiders do not enjoy living in lighted areas. You might ask, “So why should I keep the lights off then?” 

Spiders are not attracted to light, but bugs on which they feed are attracted to light. As an instinct to live, spiders would choose to get to the light to hunt for food. It would be a challenging time for you to live permanently in darkness, so you can choose to switch off outdoor lights at your home after a reasonable amount of time, or you might want to opt for a dark red night light. This way, the spiders’ prey would not come close due to dim light, and the spiders, too, would not want to come closer as they do not tolerate any source of light.

  1. Use Vinegar

Vinegar is to spiders as a hot bath is to cats. Spiders do not like vinegar at all. Such a natural method could eliminate a considerable amount of spiders in your home. For effective results, it is preferable to dilute vinegar first before using it for spider control. Undiluted vinegar contains acetic acid, which could be dangerous to your children and pets too. You can use diluted vinegar as a spray-on for any spider you see in your home. Using vinegar is adequate when there are not a lot of spiders. If there are lots of spiders, you would prefer to call on a pest control service.

Although social media and TV have biased most people on the dangers of spiders, most spiders are inoffensive. If you do not wish to kill a spider in the process, you could catch them using a glass or jar. Although this method would require nerves of steel and quick reflexes, it is a humane method that allows the spiders to still live. There are very few spiders that are dangerous to humans, such as the brown widow spider. They might not seem like, but other harmless spiders help control other pests invading your home since their diet consists of insects like mosquitoes and flies. Also, spiders would attack a human when they feel threatened by that human too. Remember that in case of a severe spider infestation, do not take the issue lightly by killing the spiders on your own. Instead, call a pest control company at home for assistance.

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FAIDEPRO
Joined: June 12th, 2021
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